Hybrid parentage 'Elstar' × 'Gala' Scientific name Malus domestica 'Rubens' Rank Cultivar | Origin Italy 1985 Higher classification Apple | |
Similar Birgit Bonnier, Apple, Allington Pippin, Karmijn de Sonnaville, Suntan | ||
Fruit of the 'Civni' apple cultivar can be marketed under the Rubens trademark if they are of sufficient quality. The 'Civni' apple is a bicolored apple. It was first developed in 1985 as a cross of 'Gala' and 'Elstar' apples by the Consorzio Italiano Vivaisti, an Italian apple growers' consortium from Ferrara. They were granted a patent on the 'Civni' variety in 2003.
The apple has a striking, striped or solid, light red color. Its taste is sweet like that of 'Gala', but more aromatic; its texture is more solid and crunchy than that of 'Elstar'.
As of 2007, the apple was grown on about a million trees in Europe, as well as in Chile, South Africa, and the United States. It has a yield between 80 and 100 tonnes per hectare. The 'Civni' cultivar is not to be confused with the Dutch "Rubens" apple, which is a cross of 'Cox's Orange Pippin' and 'Reinette étoilée'.